On Monday, September 28, two Democracy Prep Charter High School seniors, Malika I, and Anthony A., got a chance to meet Geun-hye Park, the President of The Republic of Korea. One of those scholars, Malika I., shared her account of the day!
During sixth period, Ms. Lee came to take us out of school. She informed us that there was a change in our schedule for the day. Before going to the ceremony to see President Park, we were going to introduce ourselves to the secretary of education in Korea, and take him on a tour of our high school and the middle school. I was so nervous about the day that I skipped lunch and when I introduced myself to the secretary of education, I mistakenly said I was 20 years old instead of that I was in the 12th grade!
When we arrived at the ceremony that night, Mickey Yoon-Jung Hyun, the manager of External Relations at the Korean Cultural Service that is located in downtown Manhattan, happily welcomed us. She made sure that we were comfortable. While waiting for President Park to arrive, I conversed with multiple people. I met a lady named Lin, who is a CEO of a program that takes high school students to Korea so that they can learn about the Korean culture, it turned out that a DP alumni was a member of her program.
Mickey and her co-workers had us all line up and clap when the president entered the room. I was super excited when President Park came in and wanted to take a picture with her and only her but I couldn’t. During her visit, President Park gave us a speech.
When the speeches were done, we quickly took a group picture with the president (I stood behind her!). After the picture, she left. Anthony and I also took independent pictures with Miss America 2014 who was at the event in recognition of her recent appointment as a “K-culture supporter.”
Thanks to Ms. Lee, Mr. Andrew, and Ms. Duffy, I was able to meet one of the people that I look up to. This opportunity was exciting and if I had the chance to do it again, I would. It’s not every day, you get to meet the president of Korea!